Over this past holiday weekend, T-Mobile opened a new Signature Store in the heart of downtown San Francisco. While the shop’s bright magenta signage doesn’t betray the building’s past, Apple fans may remember the site at the corner of Stockton and Ellis streets as the former home of Apple’s flagship San Francisco store.
After nearly 17 years operating their own retail stores, many of Apple’s older locations have been remodeled and expanded as the company outgrows smaller spaces and changing technology commands an ever-evolving store layout. Many stores have relocated altogether, moving to larger and more desirable mall corridors, or across town to livelier shopping districts with greater foot traffic. What happens to these old storefronts after Apple moves out? We’ve tracked down every former Apple store to see what they look like today.
As of April 2018, a total of 86 Apple stores have either moved spaces in their respective malls, relocated to different buildings, or closed permanently. This count does not include stores that have simply expanded into an adjacent mall unit. Out of the 86 stores, only 2 have permanently closed without a direct successor.
Apple typically builds out replacement stores quietly, allowing existing locations to remain open until the day the new store is revealed. This means that replacement stores require entirely new fixtures and display inventory, since nothing on the sales floor can be moved out while the store is still operational. On the last day of sales at an old location, employees often celebrate the move by gathering to watch the store’s large, lighted Apple logo turn off one last time.
Apple Third Street Promenade after being vacated. (Photo: Flickr)
Immediately, dismantling begins. Products are cleared from the tables, and all identifying branding is removed that would associate Apple with a vacant storefront. Windows and logos are covered, often times by the next day when the new store opens. Occasionally, a small sign will inform customers that the store has moved, offering directions to the new location. Fixtures inside the store are destroyed and discarded or sent away, never to be seen again. This keeps old product displays and furniture out of the hands of employees looking to flip them on eBay for a quick profit.
Since Apple only operates stores in vibrant and highly desirable retail districts, most old locations remain vacant only as long as it takes for a new tenant to remodel the space. Below, we’ve cataloged every former Apple store, the date of its relocation, and current occupant. The stores are listed in chronological order by original opening date.
Apple Woodfield
Opened: August 23, 2001 – Moved: September 30, 2017
Today: Alpaca Store (Photo)
Apple’s fifth store to open is its oldest to relocate, making the move this past September. The space is listed today as vacant, but commenters have shared that an Alpaca store is currently occupying the space.
Apple Northshore/MarketStreet
Opened: September 1, 2001 – Moved: January 28, 2017
Today: Under Renovation (Photo)
An uncommon change, Apple moved their indoor store in Peabody, Massachusetts to an outdoor location at MarketStreet Lynnfield. The old space is still under renovation.
Apple Easton Town Center
Opened: September 7, 2001 – Moved: November 10, 2012
Today: Victoria’s Secret PINK
This former storefront was divided into two units, with a Victoria’s Secret PINK location occupying the left side. The right half of the store was home to True Religion Jeans for a short time.
Apple Palo Alto
Opened: October 10, 2001 – Moved: October 27, 2012
Today: Shoe Palace
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Apple’s original Palo Alto location was frequented by Steve Jobs, who appeared at the store for the original iPad’s launch in 2010. Today it has been remodeled into a Shoe Palace.
Apple Saddle Creek
Opened: October 13, 2001 – Moved: March 26, 2016
Today: Victoria’s Secret
Like the former Easton Town Center location, Apple’s old Saddle Creek store is now occupied by Victoria’s Secret.
Apple Chandler Fashion Center
Opened: October 27, 2001 – Moved: September 24, 2016
Today: Go! Calendars, Games, & Toys (Photo)
The toy shop modestly remodeled this original Apple storefront, leaving much of the original design, including wood floors, intact.
Apple Fashion Island
Opened: November 10, 2001 – Moved: August 20, 2011
Today: Tesla
Apple’s old Newport Beach, California store was the first to become a Tesla showroom, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Apple Rockingham Park
Opened: December 8, 2001 – Moved: November 16, 2013
Today: Forever 21 (Photo)
Apple Palisades/Nanuet
Opened: December 8, 2001 – Moved: October 10, 2013
Today: Zara
When Apple moved from the Palisades Center Mall to The Shops at Nanuet, Zara took over not only Apple’s old store, but the unit next door to it as well.
Apple CambridgeSide
Opened: December 15, 2001 – Moved: July 8, 2017
Today: CVS Pharmacy (Photo)
Apple and CVS swapped places in the CambridgeSide Galleria, with Apple picking up both the old pharmacy space and an adjacent storefront.
Apple Biltmore
Opened: March 30, 2002 – Moved: September 6, 2008
Today: Blanco Tacos + Tequila (Photo)
Apple Roosevelt Field
Opened: July 20, 2002 – Moved: December 2009
Today: Ballard Designs (Photo)
Apple’s current space is now on the first level of the same mall, with Ballard Designs occupying the old second-floor store and an adjacent unit.
Apple Mayfair
Opened: August 31, 2002 – Moved: September 10, 2016
Today: Madewell (Photo)
Apple The Westchester
Opened: September 2, 2002 – Moved: July 16, 2005
Today: Bose (Photo)
This location is an anomaly among Apple stores, remodeled after less than three years to prototype a new and expanded store layout that would eventually become standard in every location. Apple recently announced that the store will again close on May 6th for remodeling.
Apple Towson Town Center
Opened: October 5, 2002 – Moved: September 29, 2012
Today: Eddie Bauer (Photo)
Apple The Fashion Mall At Keystone
Opened: November 2, 2002 – Moved: September 16, 2016
Today: White House Black Market (Photo)
Apple Southdale
Opened: November 2, 2002 – Moved: April 20, 2013
Today: Dry Goods (Photo)
Apple Menlo Park
Opened: November 9, 2002 – Moved: November 5, 2016
Today: Garage (Photo)
Apple King Of Prussia
Opened: November 9, 2002 – Moved: December 8, 2012
Today: St. John (Photo)
Apple Bay Street
Opened: November 23, 2002 – Moved: Fall 2007 – Moved Again: September 10, 2016
Today: Under Renovation
Apple’s Bay Street store in Emeryville, California is notably the only Apple store to have moved twice in its lifetime. The original store was replaced after the launch of the original iPhone in June 2007 and before the release of Mac OS X Leopard in Fall 2007. Apple curiously moved only one door down to an almost identical looking storefront. In 2016, Apple closed their second store as well, opening a much larger location just down the road. The original store first housed a Nike shop and was later combined with other units to become Forever 21. The second location is currently being renovated.
Apple Oakbrook
Opened: November 29, 2002 – Moved: January 11, 2014
Today: Ann Taylor (Photo)
Apple Bellevue Square
Opened: May 10, 2003 – Moved: September 1, 2012
Today: Peloton
Apple Arden Fair
Opened: May 17, 2003 – Moved: November 27, 2013
Today: White Barn Candle (Photo)
White Barn Candle, a sub-brand of Bath & Body Works, currently occupies Apple’s old Sacramento, California location. Pictured here with Bath & Body Works branding, the store has since been rebranded with White Barn signage.
Apple North Michigan Avenue/Michigan Avenue
Opened: June 27, 2003 – Moved: October 20, 2017
Today: For Lease
Apple Boca Raton
Opened: July 4, 2003 – Moved: November 10, 2012
Today: Tesla (Photo)
Before becoming a Tesla showroom, Apple’s tiny former Boca Raton store was home to a boutique. Notably, this was the newest Apple store with original wood flooring to be vacated. Newer locations favored a stone floor.
Apple Third Street Promenade
Opened: July 11, 2003 – Moved: December 15, 2012
Today: Champs
Apple Legacy Village/Eton
Opened: October 24, 2003 – Moved: June 29, 2013
Today: Arhaus Furniture (Coming Soon)
When Apple moved to Eton Chagrin Boulevard, their old store in Legacy Village was whitewashed with a generic looking modern facade. The building remained empty until recently, when it was announced that Arhaus Furniture would be renovating the space with a target completion date of 2019.
Apple UTC
Opened: October 24, 2003 – Moved: November 16, 2017
Apple Corte Madera
Opened: November 1, 2003 – Moved: January 30, 2016
Today: Banana Republic (Photo)
Outside of Apple’s Company Store on its Infinite Loop campus, Apple Corte Madera was the first location in the U.S. to feature the company’s modern store design when it moved in early 2016.
Apple Washington Square
Opened: November 15, 2003 – Moved: December 6, 2014
Today: Athleta (Photo)
Apple North Point/Avalon
Opened: December 6, 2003 – Moved: April 13, 2017
Like Apple MarketStreet, the company’s switch from the North Point Mall to Avalon brought the move to an outdoor location. The old store is currently being renovated.
Apple Aventura
Opened: January 31, 2004 – Moved: September 20, 2008
Today: Henri Bendel (Photo)
Apple San Francisco/Union Square
Opened: February 28, 2004 – Moved: May 21, 2016
Today: T-Mobile Signature (Photo)
Apple SouthPark
Opened: March 12, 2004 – Moved: May 25, 2013
Today: David Yurman (Photo)
This store is set to close on April 22nd for further renovations.
Apple Barton Creek
Opened: June 12, 2004 – Moved: March 23, 2013
Today: Go! Games & Toys (Photo)
As pictured, this store became a Wet Seal location prior to the company announcing the closure of all of its stores in 2017. The space has since been converted by Go! Games & Toys.
Apple Rosedale Center
Opened: July 24, 2004 – Moved: December 14, 2013
Today: AME Sports (Photo)
Apple Stoneridge Mall
Opened: September 18, 2004 – Moved: September 24, 2016
Today: Cotton On Kids (Photo)
Apple Stonestown
Opened: September 25, 2004 – Moved: December 14, 2013
Today: Brookstone (Photo)
Apple Country Club Plaza
Opened: September 25, 2004 – Moved: August 20, 2016
Today: Sprint
Apple Christiana Mall
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: June 12, 2010
Today: The LEGO Store
The Christiana Mall has been subject to a massive redevelopment project over the past several years, leaving the space that Apple formerly occupied nearly unrecognizable. According to recent mall directories and Apple’s old map, the store was located near where Forever 21 is today. Oddly enough, just 2 years after the store’s reopening in another portion of the mall, the space was expanded significantly again while maintaining an almost identical design.
Update: A commenter adds that Apple’s former storefront became The LEGO Store, just a few doors down from Forever 21, on the opposite side of the hall.
Mini Store Era
As the iPod increased in popularity, Apple saw the need to open more stores in smaller locations to serve a growing customer base. In October 2004, the company unveiled their mini store initiative by opening 6 tiny retail locations across the United States in one day. Each store was approximately half the size of the smallest Apple stores to date, and sold a more limited subset of Apple’s products and accessories.
Just three years later, the iPhone would change Apple’s course once again and the mini stores were quickly outgrown. Today, every mini store has been replaced by significantly larger locations.
Apple Stanford
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: September 7, 2013
Today: Johnny Was (Photo)
Architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed Apple’s new store in the Stanford Shopping Center. With stunning floor-to-ceiling glass and a razor-thin roof that almost appears to float, the space offered a sneak peek into future store designs.
Apple Santa Rosa Plaza
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: September 21, 2012
Today: Suit Up (Photo)
Apple Rockaway
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: December 15, 2012
Today: Aldo (Photo)
Before shoe retailer Aldo took over Apple’s old space in the Rockaway Townsquare, they operated the space pictured in a different wing of the mall.
Apple Bridgewater
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: November 8, 2008
Pictured here occupied by the Lululemon-owned brand Ivivva, the location was vacated after the 2017 announcement that most of the chain’s stores would be closing.
Apple Oakridge
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: February 14, 2015
Today: Sanraku Sushi (Photo)
Apple Southcenter
Opened: October 16, 2004 – Moved: November 15, 2008
Today: Lionesse (Photo)
Apple Victoria Gardens
Opened: October 28, 2004 – Moved: October 22, 2011
Today: J.Jill
Today’s J.Jill shop is located just a street over from Apple’s more modern storefront.
Apple Carousel/Syracuse
Opened: November 6, 2004 – Moved: August 25, 2012
Today: Kay Jewelers (Photo)
While Apple remains anchored in the same mall they originally opened at in 2004, this store’s name change coincides with the shopping center’s rebranding in 2012 from Carousel Center to Destiny USA.
Apple Bethesda Row
Opened: December 11, 2004 – Moved: April 4, 2009
Today: Five Guys
Apple Saint Louis Galleria
Opened: December 18, 2004 – Moved: October 16, 2010
Today: Blu Spero (Photo)
Apple St. Johns Town Center
Opened: March 18, 2005 – Moved: March 11, 2017
Having moved from one outdoor location to another only recently, Apple’s old space in the St. Johns Town Center has not yet finished being remodeled for a new tenant.
Apple Bullring/Birmingham
Opened: April 29, 2005 – Moved: September 24, 2016
The dated and cramped space Apple once occupied in the Bullring Shopping Centre is a far cry from the company’s replacement store, located in a magnificent 1879 bank building in the heart of Birmingham. Many newer Apple retail stores have repurposed culturally significant historic architecture instead of building new structures.
Apple Yorkdale
Opened: May 21, 2005 – Moved: December 1, 2012
Today: The LEGO Store (Photo)
Apple Century City
Opened: June 4, 2005 – Moved: November 3, 2017
This store is pictured shortly before it closed late last fall.
Apple Woodland
Opened: June 25, 2005 – Moved: April 8, 2017
Apple’s dramatically larger new store is located just two units to the right of the old one.
Apple Northbrook
Opened: July 16, 2005 – Moved: September 9, 2017
Today: Galt Toys + Galt Baby (Photo)
Apple Pioneer Place
Opened: July 16, 2005 – Moved: May 31, 2014
Apple moved from the basement of Portland’s Pioneer Place to an outdoor store seemingly inspired by the design of Apple Stanford before it.
Apple Manhattan Village
Opened: July 30, 2005 – Moved: September 13, 2014
Today: Pottery Barn Kids (Photo)
Apple Annapolis
Opened: August 27, 2005 – Moved: August 20, 2016
Today: The North Face (Photo)
Apple Florida Mall
Opened: September 24, 2005 – Moved: July 27, 2013
Today: Bose & Aldo (Photo)
After Apple relocated directly to the left of their previous store, the old space was divided into two units, now occupied by Bose and Aldo shoes.
Apple South Hills Village
Opened: September 24, 2005 – Moved: September 2, 2017
Apple Brea Mall
Opened: November 12, 2005 – Moved: September 24, 2016
Today: Tommy Bahama (Photo)
Apple The Gateway/City Creek Center
Opened: November 19, 2005 – Moved: November 17, 2012
Today: Vacant
Apple Sherman Oaks
Opened: November 19, 2005 – Moved: August 6, 2016
Today: Sunsations (Photo)
Pictured here occupied by Lounge LA, this space is now home to Sunsations.
Apple Garden State Plaza
Opened: February 4, 2006 – Moved: December 8, 2012
Today: Lululemon (Photo)
Apple NorthPark Center
Opened: March 4, 2006 – Moved: June 22, 2013
Apple Summit Sierra
Opened: March 11, 2006 – Moved: September 16. 2017
Apple Simi Valley Town Center
Opened: May 13, 2006 – Closed Permanently: September 15, 2017
One of only two Apple stores to ever permanently close without a replacement, this small location in Simi Valley, California was shuttered just before the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus went on sale.
Apple Perimeter
Opened: June 3, 2006 – Moved: October 22, 2016
Today: Edge By Know Style (Photo)
Apple Ridgedale
Opened: June 6, 2006 – Moved: September 16, 2016
Today: Games By James & Air Traffic (Photo)
Apple Memorial City
Opened: June 17, 2006 – Moved: September 2, 2016
Apple Crabtree Valley Mall
Opened: June 24, 2006 – Moved: December 9, 2017
This store is pictured just after closing for the last time, one day prior to the grand opening of a new and expanded location.
Apple Sapporo
Opened: June 24, 2006 – Closed Permanently: February 26, 2016
Today: Sony
The second of two Apple stores to close without replacement was located in Sapporo, Japan. After 10 years of operation by Apple, the space has been remodeled into a Sony store.
Apple West Town Mall
Opened: July 1, 2006 – Moved: September 10, 2016
Apple Lincoln Road
Opened: July 21, 2006 – Moved: April 25, 2015
Today: T-Mobile Signautre (Photo)
Just like the newly-opened location in San Francisco, T-Mobile’s Signature store in Miami Beach was once occupied by Apple before turning magenta. Apple built a new store after an agreement with the city failed to be met over a proposed expansion to the historic building.
Apple Smith Haven
Opened: September 9, 2006 – Moved: September 22, 2017
Today: KaRa (Photo)
Apple Providence Place
Opened: September 23, 2006 – Moved: May 20, 2017
Apple Village Pointe
Opened: September 23, 2006- Moved: September 2, 2017
Apple WestQuay/Southampton
Opened: February 10, 2007 – Moved: August 12, 2017
Prior to a name change and dramatic expansion in the WestQuay Shopping Centre last summer, Apple’s Southampton store was one of the smallest in the UK.
Apple The Domain/Domain NORTHSIDE
Opened: March 9, 2007 – Moved: November 11, 2017
Apple Park Meadows
Opened: April 21, 2007 – Moved: September 16, 2017
Lone Tree, Colorado is the third and most recent city to see an Apple store transformed into a Tesla showroom.
Apple West Towne/Hilldale
Opened: July 7, 2007 – Moved: August 12, 2017
Apple Liverpool One/Liverpool
Opened: July 26, 2008 – Moved: October 29, 2016
Today: Guess
Apple Arrowhead
Opened: July 26, 2008 – Moved: September 24 ,2016
Apple Chadstone
Opened: September 13, 2008 – Moved: November 24, 2017
Today: Witchery (Photo)
Apple’s new Chadstone store became the first in Australia to feature the company’s modern retail design. The old space was quickly renovated by clothing retailer Witchery and has already reopened
Apple Market Mall
Opened: September 27, 2008 – Moved: August 18, 2012
Today: Telus (Photo)
As of this article’s publication, Calgary’s Market Mall bears the distinction of housing the newest Apple store to have already vacated its original space. After only four years, the store was enlarged and moved to a more central mall corridor.
Across 2018 and in future years, Apple will undoubtedly relocate even more stores as existing locations continue to age. Programs like Today At Apple and the increasing demand for support and service in every store will necessitate ever-larger spaces, even as the physical size of Apple’s products shrink. Retail executive Angela Ahrendts recently noted that Apple stores have achieved “anchor status” in many malls. At a time when even large retailers struggle to stay afloat, Apple’s brick and mortar stores have become more important to the company’s success than ever before.
You can keep up with all Apple store news in our retail guide.
